Eastward Connections Still Absent from New Pasadena Bicycle Plan
By Pasadena Independent
Published: Thursday, July 16th, 2009
The City of Pasadena Department of Transportation has convened this year to begin revisiting its existing Bicycle Master Plan, which describes Pasadena’s long-range planning for developing bicycle infrastructure. A new plan will look at the full range of actions Pasadena could take to improve biking conditions, and is expected to require more innovation as the city considers new bicycling treatments, amenities, and services. But the City also looks at being able to qualify for state and federal funds, particularly from Caltrans. This time around, however, organizers have announced that the City is looking to rewrite the plan altogether, and funding may be an issue.
The current BMP, labeled “Century of Bikes,” which was adopted by City Council in November of 2000, aimed to provide a “safe and attractive environment” needed to promote bicycling as a means of transportation in Pasadena. Although 60-lane miles were identified with signage and stripes under the 2000 plan, residents, bicyclist and non-bicyclist, have complained that designated bike routes are located on busy, high-speed roads, are poorly maintained, not properly cleaned, and overall dangerous to bikes. Concerns have also been raised over the safety and security of Metro stations and the lack of amenities at those facilities, as well as the lack of accessibility to surrounding neighborhoods.
Two community meetings have already been held (one in February and another in May) by the Department of Transportation, along side the newly formed Bicycle Master Plan Advisory Committee, which is comprised of local cyclists, bicycle advocacy groups, bike shops and city staff, and Ryan Snyder Associates LLC (RSA), a new urbanist transportation planning consulting firm specializing in transit and para-transit planning. Open to the public, three more workshop-meetings were supposed to convene by the end of spring 2009, but have not done so. However, a complete draft of the new plan did meet its deadline of June 2009.
The newest draft of the BMP seems to acknowledge many concerns regarding bicycling, proposing a network of bikeways so that every neighborhood is within 0.25 miles of an effective bicycling route in the north-south and east-west directions.
The draft also includes a maintained bikeway and roadway system, bicycle parking, showers and clothing lockers in new commercial developments for commuters, and even the possibility of a bikeway along Arroyo Seco to link with downtown Los Angeles. The last objective of the draft is to implement the entire Master Plan within twenty years.
Richard Dilluvio, Senior Transportation Planner for the Department of Transportation, expressed his excitement about the project. “What we’re looking for is a new vision for the city. We want this to be a document not only about our plans for bicycling, but also about our policy regarding bicycling. The last plan has been almost completely implemented, so our goals now aren’t so much to update that plan, but to create a new one. And we hope that with this new plan, we will be able to receive more funding from Caltrans. The state wants these plans updated every five years, so we hope to have this new Master Plan ready by the end of the year.”
The Caltrans Bicycle Transportation Account (BTA) provides state funds for city and county projects that improve safety and convenience for bicycle commuters. To be eligible for BTA funds, the City of Pasadena must prepare and adopt a Bicycle Transportation Plan, the Master Plan, that complies with California street and highway laws. In the past, the City has pursued grants from various sources, including the BTA. This year, however, the BTA has only $7.2 million available for the 2009-2010 BTA grant season, for the entire state of California.
“Pasadena currently has two grants that we’re working on implementing, however they have been put on extension. I believe that if you have more than one grant on extension, you can’t apply for any more grants, but it’s still going back and forth. But one main project that we’re working on with grant funding is our Bicycle Boulevard Project, where we’re trying to improve bicycling conditions particularly on Marengo Avenue between Orange Grove and Washington.
“What we’re doing is deemphasizing that street to calm traffic, using striping and signage, in order to make it a friendly place for people to ride. We’re also trying to create a bike lane on Marengo exclusively for bikes, so that cars cannot drive up and down that street. But the hardest part of it all, which is deemphasizing that street, has already been done.”
When asked why the City has decided not to use any of its own funds for this project, Dilluvio said, “That is not true. The City Council has been very friendly as far as funding goes for this project. Most of the money which has been allocated is being used to develop this plan.”
Timing for this project, however, may not work out, according to Dilluvio. “We want to do all of this in conjunction with updating the City Mobility Element. We want to mesh the two together, in hopes of garnering a lot more credibility, if you will. We want a fusion, not separation. If the two do go hand in hand, it will ultimately be better for the future.”Talks regarding the Pasadena City Mobility Element begin this fall.
In regards to the possibility of linking Pasadena with downtown Los Angeles with a bikeway along Arroyo Seco, Dilluvio said the City has always been interested in that, however, such a bike route would start at the Pasadena City limit. “Any physical construction of such a project would not take place in Pasadena.”
When asked if any future projects would involve eastern communities like Arcadia, Monrovia, and Sierra Madre, Dilluvio said that he “as well as the City, is more than interested to work with other surrounding communities to promote bicycling. A coordinated effort would be required. We already have a Class II bikeway along Sierra Madre that goes to Michillinda. We have others in use towards Glendale and Eagle Rock, also in San Marino. But a gateway to other communities would be wonderful.”
This new update to the Pasadena Bicycle Master Plan is still in the first stages of mapping, route development and addressing connectivity issues.
“Once we have a general idea of what the new plan will be, we will begin looking for more community input.”
By Kyle Khandikian
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